by Saxon Andrew
He hoped the Builder didn’t figure out that if his ships didn’t see the Human’s warships in their galaxy, it could have been due to the change. Perhaps by the time that happened, the small being would be needing his council. Time would tell.
But for now, he was sending his warships out to tell the Halo Civilizations that moved into the galaxy that they were going to have to leave or be destroyed; there was a new force in town that was worse than the old one. He hoped the Humans would keep their promise and save his species from this species called Builders. He glanced at the monitor and saw the Leader ordering a group of Defense Globes through the black hole to gather food stores. It looked like the Builder Leader either didn’t believe him or decided there was no choice but to transit the black hole and determine just what this change was all about.
Chapter Sixteen
The Builder Leader was impatient. The Globes he sent through the black hole had not returned and he began to worry about what might have happened to them. The World’s main computer announced, “One of the Globes has returned.”
The Builder activated his mind link and said, “What’s taken you so long to report in?”
“Leader, we’ve found a situation that has us baffled.”
“What is that?”
“There are four of the giant Black Ships that have been destroyed since we left our former galaxy.”
“I’m not sure what you’re saying.”
“It appears some of the Black Ships went to our former galaxy to either gather stores or for some other unknown reason and four of them have been blasted into rubble.”
“Who did it?”
“We have no idea, Leader. There is no trace of any ships that destroyed them, which would lead us to believe that the Black Ships did not damage their attackers.”
The Leader’s head extended on his neck as he said, “Well, they had to be attacked by someone. Hold on!” The Leader changed the frequency to Levi’s panel, “I want your database open for scanning now!!”
“It is not shielded, Leader.”
The Leader said, “Computer, run a scan of that database and tell me if any ships went through this black hole after we left our galaxy.”
Levi heard him and said, “We have not detected any ships going in or coming out of the black hole for many years.”
“We’ll see about that.”
The Leader waited and after ten minutes heard the main computer announce, “That being is correct, they’ve not detected anything in more than ten years.”
“They detected nothing?!”
“There was a surge of energy in one of the jets but it appears to be nothing more than an ejection of high energy matter that often happens with the event horizon of a black hole.”
Levi saw his panel turn dark and he wondered what was going on.
The Leader punched his panel and the Elders quickly began linking in to his panel. He looked at the hologram of the returning Globe’s Commander and said, “Well, the attackers had to come from somewhere. It certainly wasn’t any of our forces and I know that none of the civilizations in that galaxy we fought our way thorough passed us on our way to their galaxy. Computer, what can you deduct from this information?”
“The galaxy that the Black Ships invaded and stripped is the closest galaxy to our former home.”
“But if the attackers came from there, why didn’t they attack the Black Ships when they were in that galaxy?”
“There is not enough information to make a conclusion.”
The Lead Elder replayed the conversation and caught up on what was happening, “Do you seriously think an enemy capable of destroying the giant Black Ships is beyond that black hole?”
The Leader’s mouth turned into a snarl, “How would I know!? Do you see any other place a new attacker could have come from after we left? They didn’t come from here and they didn’t come from that galaxy we passed through to get here. Do you see any other possibility?”
“No, we do not. Could those giant ships have attacked each other?”
The Globe Commander interjected, “The four destroyed Black Ships are not located anywhere near each other. They were all attacked at close to the same moment, according to the radiation readings.”
There was silence and no one broke it for several minutes. The Builder Leader finally said, “If those Black Ships were attacked by vessels from that other galaxy, then we are no match for them.” He paused and activated the Military Frequency, “Defense Globes one through one thousand will power up and go through the black hole.” He looked at the Globe Commander that brought the disturbing news and said, “You will lead them through the black hole in that other galaxy and make sure you’re able to get back with information in the event your forces are attacked by an overwhelming force.”
“Might I suggest you delay that order?”
“Why would I do that, Senior Elder?”
“If what this new Tool Leader has told you is correct, we need to send all of our vessels back through the black hole into our former galaxy to undergo this thing it called a Change. While we’re there we will gather enough stored from the planets that provided them in the past to sustain us until our forces will no longer explode by coming into contact with anything in this universe.”
“Do you believe him, Elder?”
“I’ve seen enough evidence to support what he’s told us. If the information is inaccurate, no harm.”
The Builder Leader stared at the Elder and fought his impatience to determine what his civilization was up against. “Globe Leader, take your Globes and await my order to carry out your instructions.”
“Yes, Leader.”
• • •
Levi sat at his panel and began seeing thousands of the Builder Vessels entering the black hole. What was going on?
• • •
Two weeks later, the Builder Leader contacted the Senior Elder, “It appears you were right about the Change happening to our vessels.”
“It has been seen in all the vessels that have returned.”
“It also accelerated once the vessels came back through. The more black holes transited, the faster this Change takes place.”
“If we’re going to become invisible…”
“All that’s needed is a magnetic field to make them visible and we’re putting them in place as we speak. We’re able to see each other along with our ships but the Tools need to be able to see us to follow our orders.”
The Elder smiled, “That is wise.”
“The last of the Worlds is coming through now and I’m launching the Defense Globes to investigate that galaxy’s black hole.”
“Make absolutely sure one of them returns with information.”
“The plan has been developed to ensure one does.”
• • •
The nine hundred and ninety nine Defense Globes came through the black hole and formed a defense formation a hundred thousand miles out from the event horizon. The Commander of the Globes came through and turned his Globe to face the black hole. “Move out another hundred thousand miles and spread out. Start scanning with your long range scanners and feed your information directly to my panel.” The Globe Commander watched the formation move away and watched them form up at double the distance from the black hole. “Do any of you detect anything?”
Silence greeted his question and he waited for fifteen minutes. He started to order them out another hundred thousand miles but suddenly heard a loud beep on his panel. All of them were detecting something moving toward them at the edge of their scanning range. “I want an image!”
• • •
“Kamela, do you hear anything?”
Kamela sighed, “They’re coming.”
“Poul, get ready to run.”
“I think we’ve determined that ship isn’t able to see us.”
“I don’t care, Poul, we’re not taking any chances. Intercept the communications between the Globes and copy it for us to examine later.”
Erica looked up from her panel, “I’ve got it covered.”
Essay nodded nervously and heard a familiar deep roar from the sonic scanner, it won’t be long now.
• • •
One of the Giant Globes flew out from the formation to meet the incoming blip. It was a thousand miles out from the giant blip and it sent an image out just before a red beam leaped out from the giant warship and vaporized it. The Globe Commander stood up and screamed, “RUN!!! RUN TO THE BLACK HOLE NOW!!!”
The formation of Globes fell apart as they turned and fled from the giant warship moving toward them at high speed. Another ten Globes were obliterated before the Globe Commander flew into the black hole. Of the remaining Globes, only four hundred managed to reach the safety of the event horizon.
• • •
“POUL!!”
“Essay, we need to remain here in order to hear what that ship is going to do about the appearance of the Builder’s forces. I’ve detected when that ship charges its blasters and I’ll get us away before they can fire on us. This is too important!”
Essay gripped the arms of his chair in a death grip as the giant warship came screaming in and stopped outside the black hole. It remained there with its force field flashing blue and then red. He looked at Kamela and saw she had her eyes closed.
• • •
The giant Flashing Warship stopped and Kamela heard, “It appears we have been discovered prior to our plans being activated.”
“You’re talking about the end game.”
“I am. Are we going to move forward and start our attacks now?”
“Unfortunately, the initial plan of the four civilizations attacking each other has not come to fruition. Another disturbing development is that we’ve lost the location of the ships that attacked the large Black Ships in the former galaxy of the Tiny Species.”
“What?”
“They’ve disappeared and the vessel we have in their galaxy had been unable to find them. The home world of that species is little more than a farming planet and does not have the facilities to have built the warships we saw attacking the Black Ships. Before we initiate our full plan, they must be found and the Civilization in the Galaxy that the Tiny Beings have invaded must also be destroyed.”
“The Tiny Beings coming here is a blow to our scheme.”
“We knew there was a possibility they would come here if they went back to their galaxy and discovered the destroyed Black Ships.”
“Should we have ignored them?”
“No, if they didn’t find us here, they would have continued the search and found us. The data says that we should leave some vessels here to destroy any vessel that transits the Black Hole.”
“Several of those round vessels were able to scan us.”
“It couldn’t be helped. Our blaster’s range is not as long as they can scan. However, they didn’t get much through our force field.” After a pause the speaker said, “We will go through the black hole and wait for the other vessels to arrive.”
• • •
The fleeting Globes were moving at maximum speed and the Globe Commander saw the massive warship come out of the event horizon far behind them. His fear was palatable and he stood up expecting it to finish what it started. But…it remained at the edge of the event horizon and he finally sat down as his Globe left the galaxy and accelerated toward his former home.
• • •
Kamela sent the conversation she was hearing to Essay and Erica’s minds and Essay wondered how Poul was going to get away. A light illuminated on his console and he saw the air thrusters were opening their ducts. He saw the gravity units reduce the Eye’s mass to less than an ounce just as the air tanks sent a charge into the thruster tubes. The Eyes flashed away and went to the far side of the black hole where it entered the event horizon. Kamela listened closely and once they were in the black hole she thought to them, “We were not detected.”
Essay looked at Kamela, “I thought those ships didn’t have blasters!?”
Kamela shrugged, “It appears I was wrong.”
“You think! That blaster destroyed a Builder Globe from a thousand miles out.”
“I think I’ve discovered something that is interesting.”
Everyone looked at the wall speaker and Erica said, “What is that, Poul?”
The Prophet’s Eyes flashed out of the black hole and turned toward the Builder’s Galaxy. It flashed by the fleeing Defense Globes and went through the black hole ahead of them. “I’m going to play the recording of the so called Ritual that Admiral Eagle recorded when he originally went to that galaxy. Tell me if you see what I do.”
The recording started on the main monitor and millions of small warships were attacking each other. The blasts from destroyed ships were gigantic and they filled the monitor. Essay’s eyes narrowed and he wondered what Poul was talking about. Then…he saw it, “The beams being used by those small ships is the same color as the beam used by the Giant.”
“Bravo! According to the scans Eric took during the confrontation a few minutes go, they’re the same.”
“It’s just a smaller version of the large beam.”
“No it’s not, Essay. The power of the beams from those small ships is the same as the one used by the Giant.”
“How is that possible?”
“I think this is what that species doesn’t want us to see. We need to get this information to our scientists and see what they can learn from the recording we just made.”
The stardrive’s tone began rising in frequency and the Eyes accelerated away at an impossible velocity as Essay said, “That would make their small ships as deadly as the giant!”
“Or it would make their giant vessels less powerful than we think.”
“Poul, that beam vaporized a Globe from a thousand miles!”
“Perhaps that Globe’s defenses weren’t the right stuff to stop it. Either way, we must find out what’s going on.”
Essay looked back at the monitor and saw that many of the small ships were hit but managed to shrug it off. Poul was right, this was important. He looked at Kamela and saw an expression he didn’t recognize, “What’s wrong?”
Kamela sighed, “I couldn’t hear the one on that vessel that appeared to be communicating with the one in command.”
“But we heard it in your thoughts.”
“I heard what it said in the mind of the one that it was communicating with and that’s what you heard.”
“Is it another telepath?”
“No, Essay, it was a machine.”
Essay looked at Erica and saw her shock and knew he wore the same expression.
Poul heard Kamela and said, “A machine, huh?” She nodded. “Well, it can’t be that smart.”
All three of them looked up at the wall speaker and Erica stared at it before saying, “And just now do you get off saying that about a…brother.”
“It’s no brother of mine and it made a mistake, which tells me it’s not as smart as it thinks it is.”
Kamela stood up, “What mistake was that, Poul?”
“It fired its beams before making sure all the recordings of the Ritual were erased. It would have taken the Builders a very long time to completely explore that galaxy and that would have given it time to locate where our ships went.”
“But finding the Colonies is next to impossible.”
“Erica, you know that and I know that but that Machine doesn’t. It made a bad decision that I would have never made. They’re not all that we think they are and if a machine is in charge, it doesn’t possess intuition. That is what will make the difference in the long run.”
Kamela shrugged, “Poul, I think that machine was in a supporting role to the Commander of that ship.”
“But the Commander took its advice. They depend on a machine that is fallible.”
Kamela smiled, “Poul, have I told you you’re amazing.”
“Oh boy, here we go again.”
• • •
/> The Builder Leader sat in his chair and stared at the hologram in front of him. The vessel was turning around in different directions and he had to keep looking at the distance designations next to it to keep reminding him that it was as large as the World he was currently on. According to the analysis of the main computer, the only weapon he had that could stand up to it was one of the Worlds and there were a billion inhabitants on them that would be placed in jeopardy if they were used against this…this…monstrosity! The sole purpose of his position was to defend the Worlds against all aggressors. Never in the past had a Builder World had to enter combat.
“What are you going to do?”
The Leader looked at the floor and slowly shook his head, “I really don’t know, Elder.”
“You are aware that they have the ability to go through a black hole and they must know we are here.” The Leader was silent and the Senior Elder said, “The Commander recorded that ship coming out of the black hole behind him.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“You made the decision to flee from the Black Ships.”
“And I’m considering fleeing from this new menace as well but where would we go, Elder?”
“Somewhere we could start building the necessary defenses to meet this challenge.”
“We’ve determined that the warship that attacked us exists in this universe, not the one we lived in.”
“I’m aware of that, Leader.” The Elder paused and said, “What’s bothering you?”
“That ship’s scanning ability is far beyond our own. It detected our Globes long before we were able to detect it.”
“So?”
“What if one of those ships is already here and watching us outside of our range to detect them? And I would also think they have a ship close to the black hole in our former galaxy watching to see if we go back there to escape.”
“I didn’t consider that.”
“Elder, I’ve always been rather proud and insufferably arrogant about being able to defeat any enemy. I still believe we could have defeated those large Black Ships if it came down to it. This experience has taught me some humility. I’m uncertain about what to do.”